


Feet on the Ground

by Vialana



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action, Character Study, Klance Week 2016, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 08:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7677301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vialana/pseuds/Vialana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance’s job was to make sure his team got home safe. He was good at his job.</p>
<p>For Klance Week 2016 on Tumblr<br/>Day 1 Prompt: Red/Blue</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feet on the Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime in an ambiguous near-future

Lance slid into his overwatch position on the top of the cliff with an ease that was starting to become disturbing. They were planet-side without their Lions, finishing a stealth infiltration mission that went mostly as planned until the last few minutes. They had retreated through a narrow natural canyon that lead back to a valley big enough to hold their Lions out of sight during the mission.

At the first sign of trouble, Shiro had sent him up to watch their backs. Lance heard the Galran forces attack while he was still climbing into a stable position. He tuned out the chatter as best he could, still primed to react to any urgent orders or cries for medical help. But the other paladains were just as experienced as he and could hold their own better than when they had first started fighting against Zarkon.

It took only seconds now to adjust himself and his transformed bayard into a comfortable sniping position. He started his routine check on his team mates.

Hunk was settled in behind solid cover, laying heavy cover fire and keeping the bulk of the forces from getting too far through the bottleneck they’d chosen as their escape route. The few droids that got through were quickly dispatched by Shiro at the vanguard. Hunk managed to cover Pidge long enough for her to reach his side and Pidge started coordinating their retreat with her better viewpoint while Hunk covered Shiro and Keith.

Lance took out a few droids sneaking down the flank towards Hunk and Pidge’s location. Pidge offered him a quick thanks in the form of a wave above her head before using the distraction to retreat further towards their Lions to start an aerial attack. Hunk stayed ground-side. There were too many droids coming through the canyon. Shiro and Keith couldn’t retreat back to cover without opening themselves up to attack and that left the canyon opening open. The three of them would be overwhelmed.

Lance did what he could to help Hunk out with thinning the mass of droids out.

Shiro was a force of nature, his hand tearing through the machines with ease. He also seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to know when he was being flanked. Lance only had to take down a few droids aiming Shiro’s way. There was a reason he was a Champion.

Keith moved with a surety in battle that he otherwise lacked without such clear direction, his red uniform suited to the danger and bloodshed of the battlefield – a war cry and challenge both, daring an enemy to attack. He was always the first to grab Lance’s attention through the scope of his rifle, bright and bold with his bared red blade.

Given an objective, he strode with confidence – every part of his body primed to achieve that goal to the best of his ability. When told to relax or given free time without a deadline and he fumbled, sometimes quite literally, over the tiniest obstacles in his path. The same guy who could rush into a fight severely outnumbers and run rings around his opponents was also the same guy who somehow managed to light food goo on fire without any sort of flame or heat source.

Lance still didn’t quite know how to reconcile the two images of Keith in his mind but, for all that he enjoyed fumbling socially awkward Keith, he was very glad that blooded battle-sharpened soldier Keith existed when the team was pinned down after an almost successful raid on a planet-side Galra installation.

Keith wasn’t quite a strong as Shiro, but he was quicker. The slashes and thrusts of his sword were precise and damaging but he was allowing himself to be drawn in closer to the main force, cutting into Hunk’s line of sight and allowing too many droids to flank him during the pause in shooting.

Lance saw Keith’s eyes widen with the realisation of his tactical error and he slashed wide, taking out two of the droids closing in on him. But there were more than two poised to strike.

Lance took out the three others with quick shots to their main processors. Keith hesitated only an instant to glance up at Lance’s position before pulling back beside Shiro to strengthen their defensive position.

Lance continued scanning for any droids that slipped through their formidable wall of attack, always keeping that swift splash of red in his sight.

  


***

  


Keith was starting to get used to the flash of blue in his periphery that preceded the fall of another enemy droid.

The first time Lance had saved his life with a timely shot he’d flinched away from the burn of the blue plasma flying close by his face to take out a droid behind him. He stared at the droid on the ground in shock for a few too many seconds. It had taken a sharp call from Shiro to get him moving again, raising his bayard to block another enemy droid looking to take his head.

After that battle, Lance had apologised for the close shot but Keith didn’t let him finish.

“You saved my life. Apologise when you actually hit me.”

Lance had stared at him, still expecting some sort of reprisal. But his expression lightened, his ever present smile appearing once again, and he huffed. “Like I ever would. Unlike some people, I can actually hit a target.”

Keith had scowled, hating being reminded that his score for shooting was the lowest on the team – still well above what was needed to be considered proficient, but not as good as Lance. Lance excelled at long range precision, a fact he never let anyone forget.

Keith never told him outright, but it was comforting to know Lance had their backs in a fight. In contrast to his usual exuberant personality, he was cool and calm in battle – especially now that he was experienced. All of them owed him their lives several times over. Lance would just wave them off, with a flippant “It’s my job.” Just as Pidge would always find a way to access whatever information they needed or Hunk could make any space wreck they came across flight worthy, Lance took his role seriously.

By the time Pidge arrived back at the scene of the battle with her Lion primed and firing, Keith and Shiro were near ready to drop. A few well-placed shots from the Green Lion collapsed the mouth of the canyon on top of the army of droids and the paladins hurried back to their Lions to ready themselves for the inevitable aerial assault that always followed a botched retreat.

Lance caught up to them as they ran into the valley. Keith altered his trajectory just enough to pace him and clap him on the shoulder. Lance grinned at him, clapping his hand over Keith’s and squeezing before they each broke away to climb aboard their Lions.

Later they would celebrate another successful mission. For now, it was enough that they were alive and together.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr under [ladyvialana](https://ladyvialana.tumblr.com/)


End file.
